Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1887-09-02
SERIOUS no on
WE Al,sFo RTt I'M e that AIsalk
& SAKE, RyRp ETTk AND eAlIy.


1nAony Ox 8Vufs lost HP0Dular HuMaDf1stl
Write from : Heart run OF sorscv..~
saxss Sad Cot urdetts,s wiSs-Bsf
ley's Heroic Dsvetisn.
I have been Impressed with the curious
fact that many Of onr most popular humor.
lists write from q heart full OF sorrow. They
are often men who have uncommon domes-
tic Affections to bear, such trials and troubles
as sometimes drive other men to drink, md
not few TO suicide But the genuine hu-
morist, like Goldsmith, or Tom Hood. or thu
late John g. SAKE, or the unfortunate Arte-
mus Ward, is usually a mad Of many sorroWs.
who SMILES IN spite Of himself while looking
upon the dark side Of life. I once lived In
New York In the same house in which Aree-t
mus Ward boarded. Il was very near what
was then known as st Johns park, but
which is now the great Hudson River freight
depot Poor Ward, after giving brilliant
lecture up town would return to his tempo
rary home, his pockets stuffed with money.
DE would usually come home intoxicated and
throw himself upon the bed, after employing
his pockets and scattering their contents over
tho room. II don't care for money. y he
would say. q don't care for farnei i am
the most miserable and unhappy Of menf'
= A PoEf's SAD LOT. '5s "a E
The world knows Of the misfortunes which
overwhelmed John G. Sake, and how be lived
for years prey to melancholy, the wreck of
q railway accident, and almost the only sur.
v1vor OF bus once large and interesting family.
REMAINDER him well in his prime, when he
resided In pretty brick cottage on Union
street, in the lovely little city of Burlington.
Vt. Then he had . charming wife and q
large family Of children. He was in the best
OF health, OF perfect physical build, as tall
and handsome fellow as one could wish to
see. lie was at the height Of his fame as a
poet and lecturer: and had nothing to do 4
put travel over the country and SCOOP in the
dollars, a as Ell Perkins does NOWADAYS. Il
seemed as If fortune SMILED upon Sake, and
as If his days Of joy and sunshine would
never end. was student in college then.
and remember how ! used to envy him his
happy lot. The years few swiftly by, and
time wrought sad havoc with the SAKE fam
,ly, as well us with the genial poet himself i
His wife died, and all of the children, save
one, followed her to the grave, victims OF
consumption was at the wedding Of one
Of Mr. Saxe's sons. in New York city, when
he married daughter Of the late Judge
sutherland. In a few years both bride and
groom had passed away, and the parents on
both sides are now dead. OF the poets recent
death and its sad circumstances it is unneces.
sary to speak. .rs' e..
-,'T POOR BURDETTE'S WIFE, 49,,
The saddest case 4 have heard Of recently il
that Of Bob Burdette. His young and hand
some wife became dreadful sufferer from
rheumatism. Nothing gave her relief and
she daily grew worse. Finally the disease
reached such Il stage that she became terribly
deformed, and was really, . frightful object 4
to behold. The skin Was drawn tightly over
the bones of her face, and the flesh SO fell
away, she looked as If she had been burned.
and dreadful scar was the result. Her face
showed the bones as prominently as does
Cardinal ManDing's today. Her hands grew
like birds claws. and she was unable to walk
In time she became almost helpless, and could
only feed herself with the greatest difficulty
This state of things continued for years. All
this time poor Burdette was the most patient.
loving and devoted Of husbands. His af-
fections seemed to increase with his wife's dis
trcss. He always spoke of her as aher serene
higl'ness," and called their little boy 'sthe
pri:ce." He used to dress his wife, comb
and arrange her hair, put a bit Of lace about
her neck, put on her lace lnits etc, and then
take her up in his arms and carry her wher-
ever she wished to go. At the table he cut
her food, helped her feed herself, and held the
cup or glass while she drank. He never
seemed to notice her deformities, and was
always loving, kind and attentive II thew
passed the summer at the sea shore, no would
take her to the beach, find shady and re-
tired place, put her in a chair, arrange her
comfortably, and then, throwing himself
upon the sand, read to her for hours. And
so he continued to love and cherish his wife. |
until they were parted by death. Many of
tho brightest and most laughablc of his con-
tributions to the press We're written a. the
bedside of his wife. Fl ,~.t,f. f. r.
THE DANBuRY NEWS HAN. gs3 !
J. NJ. Bailey, known as The Danbury
Conn., News man, is another example Of a
humorist who has more than his share of
trials He is a large, handsome man, with
black eyes and dark hair, now plentifully
sprinkled with grny. He lives very quietly
in Danbury, Conn, and is either always at
his little Office OH Main street. or ut his mod.
ern residence, with its pretty green lawns
and bed Of flowers He never spends an
evening away from home, and has not been
outside Of Danbury for years: = His poor wife
has lost her reason and demands all of his at /
tention. She thinks nobody in the world can
do anything for her except her husband He
must dress her and arrange her hair, and at
tend to all her wants. She is like child, and
he gives her all of his affection, time and at
tention. His devotion IS something heroic
and beautiful. Upon one occasion, SO the
people OF Danbury say, she went to his office
and asked him 70 do up her hair. /. It had
fallen down. He arranged it for her iii the
pleasantest manner. possible did all I. sha